Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness – "Full Moon Affected John's Night"
Air Date: December 5, 2025
Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogan, Brett Vesely, Dick Toledo
Theme: How a full moon and modern technology conspired to create a night of anxiety, confusion, and dark comedy for John and his friends.
Episode Overview
This episode spins a wild, comedic yarn about John Holmberg’s truly bizarre night, triggered by a full moon and aided by anxious children, overzealous tracking technology, and a strange incident involving his dad and a would-be home intruder. The conversation is infused with the show’s trademark irreverence—skewering parental over-involvement, generational attitudes, and the absurdities of modern family dynamics.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. The Full Moon Kicks Off a Weird Night
- John describes how the night after a full moon seemed to drive everyone crazy, especially in his social circle and family.
- His dad is staying at John's rental house, and John is at dinner with his partner's relatives when the chaos begins.
Timestamp: 01:20 – 02:55
John Holmberg: “Let’s go. On this glorious day after a full moon that actually did affect the behavior of humanity. Last night in my world, I had quite a weird evening..."
2. The Parental Tracking Panic
- John's friend Mark and his wife go off on a date night, but their three adult children initiate panic when the parents’ phones go dead.
- Lauren, the 26-year-old Boston daughter, calls John in Arizona, convinced something suspicious has happened, as the parents’ last known locations don’t match and they're unresponsive.
- The family’s use of phone tracking highlights generational anxiety and the expectation of instant availability, which John finds deeply unsettling.
Memorable Quotes:
- John (02:55): "Phones ringing nowadays usually either mean tragedy or financial gains. That’s about the only reason anyone would ever call me."
- Brady (04:08): "[On tracking apps] I think I have Kirby, but I don’t know if Kirby has [me]."
- John (04:23): "That’s North Korea crap. I couldn’t do it... I would make me so nervous. Everything I’m doing is under question."
Timestamp: 02:55 – 05:00
3. The Modern Kid–Parent Dynamic
- John and the crew mock how teens and young adults constantly contact their parents for trivial reasons, referencing a co-worker’s Russian son who calls over sandwich meat.
- He laments how every minor inconvenience prompts a call, contrasting it to the hands-off parenting of their own youth.
John (05:33): "Every time I'm with someone with kids who have the ability to speak the language, they're getting three or four phone calls during the dinner about something in the fridge is missing... what's this? Order me Chick-fil-A."
- The show's running joke: The only reason the kids want to know where parents are is to establish how much time they have for mischief.
4. John Goes Full Detective – And Nearly Trump
- Pressured by Mark's children, John leaves his dinner to visit every conceivable restaurant or hangout to track down the missing parents.
- Includes an off-color riff on jaywalking ("Mexican family... Is there anything these people will cross legally...?"), emphasizing John's ability to find gallows humor in exasperation.
- Ultimately, it turns out Mark and his wife were at the basement of a restaurant with no cell service, thoroughly enjoying their peace.
John (07:12): "We thought they were dead. Like, this is so out of character..." John (08:36): "I literally thought my best friend had been beheaded by the cartel and taken away..."
5. Interlude: John’s Dad and the Strange Visitor
- As John decompresses, he checks the security cameras on his rental home and discovers dozens of notifications.
- Outside the house, a man claims to have been framed for rape by his girlfriend after a fight. Cop cars show up; John’s dad, armed with a .308, refuses to open the door.
John (11:01): "You need to call the cops and go down the street... I got my 308." John (13:28): "There’s Dan standing in front of my house with a .308 pistol grip. It’s all right. I’ll take care of the rapist if he pops by again..."
Timestamp: 08:56 – 13:40
6. The Dateline Instinct and Dark Fantasies
- John admits to briefly fantasizing about stumbling into a true-crime scene just to make things “interesting.”
- The group jokes about who would have to take care of their friend's teenage daughter if the worst happened and debates the logistics, with John humorously dodging any responsibility.
John (13:51): "There is some... thing... the Dateline episode in me wants to find the bodies. And I know that's emotionless, but there was part of me going, ‘Oh, this mystery can deepen’..."
7. Riffs on Teenage Sex and Parental Naivety
- The hosts let loose in a raunchy, comedic examination of teenage sexuality, insisting that parents who believe their teens are innocent are delusional.
- John is frank, sometimes graphically so, about what he believes teenagers get up to, emphasizing that all the monitoring in the world won’t stop it—just as it didn’t during their own upbringing.
- They lampoon the idea of “praying” teens, over-protective dads, and clueless parents.
Notable Quotes:
- John (26:25): "She’s putting out. She’s taking hoes. And the faster you people recognize that if you’ve got a daughter who’s pretty, you do... There’s old fashions going on."
- John (33:33): "All daughters get ectoplasm on their hands and try to wash it off before they come home and kiss you good night."
- John (29:25): "My life is turning into Larry David stuff..."
8. John’s Teenage Memories and Generational Contrast
- Holmberg recalls his own youthful attempts at wild house parties, tragic discoveries by Dad, and how his own upbringing—full of rules and close calls—shaped his views on parenting.
- The hosts contrast their "figure it out yourself" youth with today’s helicopter-parents and tech surveillance.
John (37:54): "The only time I did it, he showed up 30 hours early. We didn’t have cell phones so I could call Dan and go, hey, how’s hunting going?... Now we got this."
9. The Moral: Parental Surveillance Doesn’t Prevent Trouble
- Reiterating that 17-year-olds are wired for bad decisions, the show makes peace with the idea that worrying and surveillance don’t change basic teen behavior.
- The final minutes spiral into tales of turf obsession, more jokes about generational differences, and comic warnings about the perils of naive parenting.
John (44:45): "You did this to me. You made me a turf monster. I’m grateful. It looks good all year long. Yeah, but you don’t do any work on it. How do you feel about you? I just want to squirt."
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Moment | |-----------|---------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:55 | John Holmberg | “Phones ringing nowadays usually either mean tragedy or financial gains. That’s about the only reason anyone would ever call me.” | | 04:23 | John Holmberg | “That’s North Korea crap. I couldn’t do it.” | | 05:33 | John Holmberg | “Every time I'm with someone with kids... they're getting three or four phone calls during the dinner...” | | 08:36 | John Holmberg | “I literally thought my best friend had been beheaded by the cartel and taken away.” | | 13:28 | John Holmberg | “There’s Dan standing in front of my house with a .308 pistol grip. It’s all right. I’ll take care of the rapist if he pops by again...” | | 26:25 | John Holmberg | “She’s putting out. She’s taking hoes. And the faster you people recognize... there’s old fashions going on.” | | 29:25 | John Holmberg | “My life is turning into Larry David stuff.” | | 33:33 | John Holmberg | “All daughters get ectoplasm on their hands and try to wash it off before they come home and kiss you good night.” | | 44:45 | John Holmberg | “You did this to me. You made me a turf monster…” |
Timestamps of Important Segments
- 01:20: John sets the scene for his “insane” night
- 02:55 – 05:00: Parental tracking panic and generational angst
- 08:56 – 13:40: Security camera saga: John’s dad confronts a suspected criminal
- 13:51 – 15:59: Darkly comic musings on the “Dateline” effect and parental responsibility
- 26:00 – 33:40: Candid, explicit discussion on teen sex and parental cluelessness
- 37:25 – 39:42: Stories from John's own teenage years and family drama
Tone and Style
- Cynical, irreverent, no-holds-barred humor
- Frank (sometimes explicit) observations on family, parenting, and teenage life
- Frequent self-deprecation and willingness to skewer oneself, one’s friends, and societal expectations
Summary and Takeaway
Through one tumultuous night, John Holmberg exposes the comedic chaos that results when parental overreach, generational misunderstanding, and a full moon collide. The episode lampoons the illusion of control—whether through phone tracking or old-school discipline—reminding listeners that kids will always find a way, and parents are often the last to know.
If you’re not listening, you’re missing out on a wild, unfiltered ride through the landscapes of modern family life—with plenty of laughs, awkward truths, and memorable banter.
